USA > Connecticut > Representative citizens of Connecticut, biographical memorial > Part 29
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Elisha Cogarton Dilliaro
Nor was this the extent of Mr. Hilliard's manufacturing interests. Besides the South Manchester mills he also owned a factory in Vernon Center and another at Glastonbury, Connecticut. These various enterprises were all successful and Mr. Hilliard grew to be very wealthy and became a prominent figure in the community. Before the introduction of the great silk industry in South Manchester, the Hilliard enterprise was one of the largest and most important in the region, and though the latter has eclipsed it relatively, the woolen concern has actually increased its size up to the present day and is now in a most prosperous condition and doing the largest business it has done in all its long career. Since the death of Mr. Hilliard, his son, Elisha C. Hilliard, has remained at the head of the concern and has continued the wise management and policy of the elder man. In 1893 the company was incorporated under the name of the E. E. Hilliard Company with the present Mr. Hilliard as its president. In the year 1901 the company purchased of the Peter Adams Company an old paper mill which had been partly destroyed by fire some time before and never rebuilt. This property and the exceptionally fine water rights which went with it the Hilliard company began at once to utilize. On the site of the old paper mill, a modern power plant was erected in which the force developed by the fall of water was transformed into elec- tricity and conveyed by wires to the Hilliard mill. The capacity of this plant is four hundred horse power and it now supplies a large proportion of the power utilized by the mill.
Mr. Hilliard married, May 6, 1835, Charlotte D. Spencer, a native of Bolton, Connecticut, and a daughter of Selden Spencer, of that place. Mrs. Hilliard survived her husband for thirteen years, dying on June 17, 1894. To them were born five children, as follows: Elizabeth, deceased; Maria Henrietta, deceased; Adelaide Clementine, who is now a resident in the old family mansion situated near Manchester, Connecticut ; Mary Ellen, now the wife of Dr. James W. Cooper, of Hartford; and Elisha Clinton, of Hart- ford, who has already been mentioned as the president of the E. E. Hilliard Company.
The phrase which perhaps best sums up the achievements of the strong and successful sons of New England, with that terse completeness which idiomatic forms alone possess, is the familiar one "a self-made man." This Elisha Edgarton Hilliard was preeminently a man who made the very most of limited opportunities, and turned difficulties into stepping stones for further advancement with naught save his own native energy and intelli- gence. An inflexible will which bent for no obstacle, he nevertheless had an abiding sense of justice and never failed to consider the rights of other men with whom he came in contact, no matter how greatly it might appear to his advantage. To his great capacity for the practical affairs of the world, he added an idealism in a high degree unusual, and was a strongly religious man, and a faithful church member. His religious affiliations were with the Congregational church, and for many years he was a member of the North Church of that denomination, and a faithful worker in the cause of its advancement. He was a deacon also and filled that office with enthusiasm, doing all that lay in his power for the support of the church and its many benevolences. Through all his busy life he held to the high ideals he had
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Elisha Cogarton Milliard
set for himself and was equally above reproach in his business and personal relations. His fondness for his family and home was very strong and he found his chief happiness in the intimate intercourse of his own household. However much his mind might be occupied with the pressure of business, he never forgot the wants and desires of those about him, and was forever devising means whereby he might further the pleasure and happiness of those about him. In all respects, howsoever he may be viewed, he was a man to which any community might be proud to point as a member, and which it could most appropriately hold up to its youth as a type of good citizenship.
CONN-VOI III -16
A. Bradford Scott
I N THE DEATH of M. Bradford Scott, West Hartford, Con- necticut, lost a citizen who made for himself a prominent place in the life of the city, not only in business circles, but in the world of philanthropy, in church affairs, and in every enterprise which had for its object the advancement and bet- terment of the community with which he had been so long a time closely identified. He had inherited in rich measure the sterling qualities so characteristic of his ancestors, and in this connection it seems appropriate to give brief mention to the origin of the name Scott.
According to the historian Boethius (and his theory is supported by Vermundus, Cornelius and Scoleger), the origin of this name goes back to extreme antiquity. Boethius avers that it is derived from Scota, the daughter of that Pharaoh, King of Egypt, who was drowned in the Red Sea. The history reads like a fairy tale. Gathelus, son of Cecrops, first King of Athens, and a native of Egypt, became so insolent and troublesome at the court of his father, that he was banished the kingdom. Accompanied by a large band of fugitives, he left Greece and went to Egypt in the time of Moses, at a time when Pharaoh was engaged in a war with neighboring nations. Joining in forces with the Egyptians, he was made a general, and soon subdued the natives at war with Pharaoh, and so won the favor of that monarch that the latter gave his daughter, Scota, in marriage to Gathelus. About this time Egypt was visited with the plague mentioned in the Bible. In order to escape from this scourge, Gathelus and Scota, his wife, with a large number of Greeks and Egyptians, put to sea, and landing in Spain, called that portion of the country Port Gathale, now known as Portugal. On account of the affection Gathelus bore his wife, Scota, he named the people Scottis. After years of bloody warfare with the barbarians of Spain, Gathelus, with his colony, sailed for and landed in Ireland, and afterwards went over to the northern part of Britain, which was called Scotland (the land of the Scots) from the Scots who planted themselves there. We have the testimony of Seneca that the name of Scot was known to some writer in the first century. The Bishop of Aberdeen, who searched all the monu- ments of antiquity in Scotland, says that all agree that the name of Scott was derived from Scota, the most important person in the colony. Long anterior to the general use of surnames, natives of Scotland who migrated to England or other countries added Scotus to their proper names to indicate their nativity or descent. Among these was John Duns Scotus, one of the greatest scholars of his time, of whom Halles says that thirty thousand people attended his lectures at Oxford. As we come down to the Norman period in England, distinguished people who had Scotch blood in their veins added the Christian name "le Scot," as John le Scot, last Earl of Chester, and his grandnephew, William Baliol le Scot, ancestor of the Scotts of Scotts Hall, Kent. The old Norman church at Bradbourne, Kent, contains many monuments of the Scotts of Scotts Hall, some of which date back to the
radford cook ofily
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8. Bradford Scott
thirteenth century. In Kent, Staffordshire and the Scotch border, for long generations the family of Scott has been one of great wealth and power. At one period it was said that the Scotts of Scotts Hall could travel from Bradbourne to London, some fifty or sixty miles, without leaving the estates of the family connections. It is an historical record that in 1665 "Lady Anna Scott was esteemed the greatest fortune and most accomplished lady of the Isle of Britain." In Scotch history we meet with John Scott, a native of Cheshire, England, who was elected Bishop of St. Andrews in 1178. The first of the name of Scott in England after surnames came into general use was John Scott, the last Earl of Chester, born in 1206. Sir Peter Scott, first mayor of Newcastle in 1251, and Sir Nicholas, his son, capital bailiff of New- castle in 1269, date from the same century. The name has also had many distinguished representatives in this country.
Moses Scott, father of M. Bradford Scott, was the possessor of a re- markably fine voice, and he was frequently called upon as a singer on public occasions of varied character. In his earlier years he had taken up the study of medicine, intending to follow the medical profession, but he abandoned the idea in favor of the drug business, and was the successful proprietor and manager of a drug store in Manchester for many years, his brother William being a physician in the same city. He married Esther Salisbury.
M. Bradford Scott was born October 25, 1843, and died May 25, 1906. His education was a sound and practical one, and when he entered upon his business career he was successful in all that he undertook. For a period of thirty years he filled the responsible position of cashier of the Hartford Fire Insurance Company, which position he held at the time of his death. For many years he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hartford Trust Company, being the incumbent of this office at the time of his lamented death. Both of these companies, as well as a number of other institutions, held special meetings at the time of the death of Mr. Scott, resolutions being passed in his memory, and these were presented to the bereaved family. In political matters Mr. Scott always supported the Repub- lican party, and although he never sought office, but let "the office seek the man," as he expressed it, he was honored by election to the Legislature from Manchester in 1884, and served with credit and honor to himself and his constituents, and also served in the City Council as alderman. He was a devout member of the Congregational church, serving as chairman of the business committee, in which capacity the church profited greatly by his practical advice. He had inherited his father's talent and musical ability, and for many years had charge of the choir in the church with which he was affiliated in Manchester. His fraternal affiliations were with the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Republican Club. One of his chief forms of recreation was found in travel- ing, and he had traveled extensively in this country, and had visited Europe in 1894.
Mr. Scott married Mary E. Clark, daughter of Albert and Mary (War- ren) Clark, of Connecticut. Mrs. Scott was a faithful and earnest helpmeet to her honored husband; she is loved and respected by all, there being today no woman who occupies a more enviable position in the circles in which she
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8. Bradford Scott
moves, for her many friends and acquaintances have learned to prize her for her beautiful character and useful life. Thus, in a brief way, has been out- lined the career of M. Bradford Scott. The cause of humanity never had a truer friend than this valued gentleman who has passed to the higher life. The stereotyped words customary on such occasions seem but mockery in writing of such a man when we remember all the grand traits that went to make the character of this, one of nature's noblemen. In all the relations of life-family, church, state and society-he displayed that consistent gentle- manly spirit, that innate refinement and unswerving integrity that endeared him alike to man, woman and child. Indeed, the greatest eulogy that can be pronounced on any man may be consistently said of him, "He was true and faithful to every duty and trust reposed in him." The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Scott is Henry Walter Scott, who lives in Hartford, and married Jennie Hill ; they have one child: Bradford Hill Scott.
Robert WHeller
T O INVESTIGATE THE careers of those men who, in the truly Democratic communities of America, without favor or advantage of any kind over their fellows, have by their own courage and ability made their way up the ladder of success, cannot fail to be of benefit, since it must bring to light many till then hidden treasures of character and mind, to serve as models for future generations, generations which with the advance of the arts and the multiplication of comforts and luxury, might be tempted to relax somewhat from the severe but wholesome ideals of duty which in the past have borne such worthy fruit. Nor is it only such figures as have won their successes in public life and gained for themselves the applause of the world that will serve this turn, but not less so those whose accom- plishments have been along more secluded ways, who maybe have not been known to more than a comparatively small acquaintance, but whose per- sonalities have acted as an inspiration within those limits, whose example has tended only and always to foster virtue and discourage evil. Among the ranks of these may well appear the name of Robert Weller, whose brief life, coming to an untimely end, May 16, 1913, at the age of forty-five years, de- prived the city of Hartford, Connecticut, of one of its rising citizens, his large circle of acquaintances of a faithful friend, his family of a devoted husband and father, and the world of an honest man. Indeed it might be prophesied with every show of reason that Mr. Weller's talents would have made him known to a larger public and proclaimed themselves in a more far- reaching tone, for the future promised well and his powers had scarcely reached their zenith, had it not been for the death which so abruptly brought to a close a career so brilliant.
Mr. Weller was a native of New York City, born September 12, 1868, remaining in the place of his birth during the years of his childhood and early youth. He learned the engraving trade in Hartford, Connecticut. Upon reaching manhood he began a tour of the western part of the United States, where he had the good fortune to meet his prospective wife and marry her. It was then that he returned to the east, and this time took up his abode in the charming city of Hartford, where he continued to live dur- ing the remainder of his brief life, and where he quickly established himself in business. The business he chose was that of engraving and designing, and his office was situated at No. 177 Asylum street. The real talent of Mr. Weller in the line he had chosen, combined with an excellent sense of busi- ness, brought him rapidly into the first ranks of his profession, and insured him from the outset a very considerable success and that enviable reputation for integrity and ability which can only be the outcome of real industry and a consistent regard for obligations and the rights of others. As time went on his measure of success grew rapidly and he was regarded as one of the prominent men in the community at the time of his death. Mr. Weller was a man of much public spirit and during his residence in Hartford was con- nected with many movements for the advancement of civic interests and the
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Robert Mueller
benefit of the community at large. He was also very charitably inclined and concerned himself not a little for the advantage of those less fortunate members of the community which are obliged to depend on the efforts of others in whole or in part. He was a man of strong religious instincts and beliefs, and affiliated with the Episcopal church. During the years spent in Hartford he was a member first of Christ Church and later of St. James' Parish, and was active in working for its cause and the interests of religion in general.
As has already been remarked, it was during the tour which he made of the west that Mr. Weller met the young lady who soon after became his wife. This occurred in the progressive city of Peoria, Illinois, where he was travel- ing in the year 1894. The young lady was Frances Maud Todhunter, a daughter of John and Catherine (Scott) Todhunter, old and highly- respected residents of that place. It was on March 15, 1894, that Mr. Weller and Miss Todhunter were united in marriage, and shortly thereafter the youthful couple made their home in Hartford, where Mrs. Weller and the four children of their union still reside, having all survived Mr. Weller. The married life of Mr. and Mrs. Weller was indeed an ideal one in every do- mestic relation. Their children are Lillian Elizabeth, Raymond Francis, Florence Josephine and Ruth Maud.
Death, always tragic in itself, contains a double share of that quality when it occurs in the very heyday of a man's vigor and the full tide of his activity, leaving so many hopeful beginnings unfinished, and so many links with the world abruptly severed. Nevertheless, there is a certain consola- tion in many cases of the kind to be gained from the observation that into the comparatively short period of life there has been, if the phrase be per- missible, as many years worth of action and event, as into the more slowly moving currents of lives which, measured by the clock, seem longer. Cer- tain it is that, if time is relative, and but measured by the passing of events, the lives of such men as Mr. Weller, crowded with happenings and plans, "full of a number of things," as Stevenson put it, must appear as long to their possessors as those of other men, and lacking withal in the inconveniences of old age and the decay of faculties. Even in the effect upon the com- munity the same truth holds good, and many a young man such as Mr. Weller has left, not merely a more vivid impression, but an influence abso- lutely larger in bulk, so to speak, than the average man whose death only comes after the allotted term of three score years and ten. As far as Mr. Weller's influence upon those about him was concerned, it was doubtless large, and what is even more to the point, wholly salutary. One way in which it was exerted was through his art which in a man of his artistic sense and ability could not fail to exercise a refining and cultivating power upon all those who came in contact with it. Perhaps even more potent, however, was the influence exerted directly by his personality, in virtue of his many sterling virtues, and his strength of character. His associates universally felt its spell, recognizing his fine qualities and paying tribute to them with admiration and affection which were wholly spontaneous. His conduct in every relation of life was most commendable, and whether as a husband and father, whether as a friend or a citizen, or whether simply as a man among men, he might well serve as a model for the youth of future generations.
Fredit a Prothis.
Frederick A. Robbins
IN EUROPE, especially in England, it is very common to come upon business houses that, like the aristocratic estates of the nobility, have continued for more than one or two genera- tions in the control of one family, the possessors of which feel quite as strong and rather more wholesome pride in the stability and reputation of their mercantile enterprises as ever the aristocrat can. In this country, on the other hand, such houses are of much more rare occurrence and it is only in New England, where they approach in number and character the similar institutions abroad. Like her namesake across the sea, New England, however, can show many such houses, industrial, commercial, and financial, whose prin- cipals feel the same strong and wholesome pride, and maintain just as jeal- ously the traditions and ideals thereof, traditions and ideals which they be- lieve with great justice to be the cause of their success and permanence. An excellent example of such a mercantile establishment is the furniture business of Robbins Brothers, Incorporated, of Hartford, Connecticut, with which the gentleman whose name heads this brief sketch was associated during his entire life. The business was founded by his father as early as the year 1826 under the name of Robbins & Winship, at the corner of Main and Mul- berry streets, opposite what is now the Wadsworth Atheneum. At that time they manufactured all their furniture and employed quite a force of men, having a number of apprentices learning the business in the different branches. Their lumber was bought at auction in New York City in the log and sawed to order. It was the rosewood and black walnut period in furniture making and French carvers were engaged to do the carving, espe- cially on the rosewood pieces. This continued until the starting up of the large furniture factories in the West in the heart of the lumber regions and the development of railroad transportation. Since then, manufacturing has continued in only a limited way, the firm buying most of its merchandise. And just as the business is an excellent example of such permanent estab- lishments that far outlast the lives of those who are responsible for their conception and start, so Mr. Robbins himself was an equally good example of the substantial business man and merchant that has thriven so abund- antly in that part of the world.
Frederick A. Robbins was a member of a very old and distinguished New England family, the representatives of which for many generations had been closely identified with the public affairs of the community where they dwelt. He was born December 5, 1841, in the city of Hartford, and in that city passed his entire life. His childhood and early youth were spent as they are in most instances today, in the pursuit of education and the innocent pleasures of children, though in the case of Mr. Robbins an unusual share was given to the former, the lad being early of a serious and ambitious nature. Fifteen years before his birth, his father, Philemon F. Robbins, founded the business that was so long to survive him and which was to play
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Frederick a. Robbins
so important a part in the Hartford commercial world. This business pros- pered from the outset and at the time of young Mr. Robbins' leaving school, was already regarded as among the important concerns in the city. A few years later the firm name became Robbins, Winship & Company, Frederick A. Robbins entering the firm, and about 1882 was changed to Robbins Brothers, being composed of Frederick A. and his brother, Philemon W. Robbins. On May 1, 1914, the business was moved to No. 310 Pearl street and incorporated, becoming Robbins Brothers, Incorporated, with Frederick A. Robbins president. The business is to-day very nearly ninety years old and a great measure of this success is the direct result of the clear judgment and grasp of the business principles possessed by Mr. Frederick A. Robbins, which for so many years were always at the disposal of its needs.
Mr. Robbins was interested in a general way in the political issues of his time and in their application to local affairs, but his retiring disposition with- held him from taking an active part therein and allying himself to the local organization of the party, of which he was a member. He was possessed of strong religious beliefs and feelings and was a lifelong member of Christ Episcopal Church of Hartford.
Mr. Robbins was united in marriage with Cordelia Fay Loomis, of Hartford, on June 17, 1879. She was the daughter of Henry A. and Cynthia M. (Pease) Loomis, of Suffield, Connecticut. To them were born three children who, with their mother, survive Mr. Robbins. They are Frederick A. Robbins, Jr., a resident of Hartford, Nellie L., now Mrs. Edward C. Swan, of West Hartford, and Fay Loomis, a resident of Hartford.
The qualities which chiefly distinguished Mr. Robbins throughout his entire career, even in the latter part of it when success would seem to have encouraged some relaxation of effort, were those of the most scrupulous conscientiousness to the tasks he undertook to perform and an integrity above reproach in every relation of life. He was one of those comparatively rare individuals to whom religion is not a matter of profession pure and simple, but a practical guide for the problems and difficulties of every day life and labor. His treatment of others accorded well with this high ideal, and it was truly in a Christian spirit that he dealt with his associates of every kind, whether business or personal, gaining in return a respect and venera- tion from the whole community that will long outlast the term of his mortal life. A man of retiring disposition, he was particularly devoted to the society of his own family and household, and was never so happy as when enjoying this gentle intercourse. He was a devoted friend, husband and father, and throughout life displayed a noble disinterestedness in connection with his own happiness, being always ready and willing to sacrifice it if by so doing that of others whom he loved could be assured.
Sauces & Marcou
James Joseph Morcom
T HOSE STRANGE REGIONS in which is to be found some of the wildest and most beautiful scenery in the world, com- prised in the rugged islands which, bounding the north and west coast of Scotland, extend their greatly lessened bulk in two branches southward, the one following the coast of Ireland along the shores of Donegal, the other penetrating the Irish Sea, are, considering their proximity to such centers of civilization as the British Isles, surprisingly little known popu- larly, and when thought of at all are thought of rather as the romantic realms of fairies than as the abodes of ordinary mortals like ourselves. This isolation is largely due to the natural peculiarities shared by them. Bold and rocky, they rear themselves up from the stormy seas that flow about them, and do not by their surface encourage the industries of their inhabitants, nor do their shores permit an easy approach either to travellers or traders. One of the southernmost of these islands, the climate of which is rendered far more mild and peaceful by its sheltered position in the Irish Sea, is the strange little kingdom of Man, assuredly,one of the smallest realms that can lay claim to any degree of independence in the world. For centuries it retained its own traditions and customs, its own government and laws, and even to- day is in a large measure independent of the imperial parliament of its great neighbor and which, passing over the prerogatives of Man, extends its con- trol into the ultimate parts of the earth. The island is but little over thirty miles in length and but little more than one-half as broad, it has a population of about fifty-five thousand souls, yet it retains a large degree of independ- ence and is the scene of many beautiful and interesting old ruins, tokens of its former pride and strength.
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